By: Ohmer Bautista
After two months of competitive action, the quarterfinals pairings are now set in the 2018 Filoil Flying V Preseason Cup, presented by Chooks-to-Go.
The unblemished Ateneo Blue Eagles, who sit atop the Group A perch with a 9-0 record, will square-off against the Letran Knights.
UAAP rivals DLSU Green Archers will figure in another war with the FEU Tamaraws while Group B top-seed CSB Blazers will face-off against the UP Fighting Maroons. Reigning NCAA champions San Beda Red Lions will stand-off against the Adamson Soaring Falcons.
The quarterfinals will begin on Thursday, June 28.
Relying on hard-nosed defense and exquisite ball movement, the NCAA Kings San Beda University Red Lions orchestrated a drubbing against back-to-the-wall Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals, 75-48, to secure a second-seed finish in Group A
“It’s really our game to play defense today. Even though general have shooters, we did try to really eliminate them from scoring,” San Beda head coach Boyet Fernandez expressed.
Up by as much as 21 points after the break, the Red Lions showed no signs of stopping as they feasted on the passing lanes to further bury the Generals with an 11-to-two run, 57-27, with a little over three minutes left in the third frame. From that point onward, the Red Lions never looked back and walked away with a dominating win.
All but two players in the Red Lions’ den registered a basket in the game, with Kenmark leading the pack with 11 points. While Toba Eugene posted a double-double performance with 10 markers and 11 boards for San Beda, who now sits at second place in Group A with 7-2 slate.
Meanwhile, Maui Cruz tallied nine points for the Generals in a losing effort. The Generals end their tournament winless.
In a highly-physical game,the College of Saint Benilde Blazers out-gunned the San Sebastian College-Recoletos, 87-79, to post their their seventh win of the tournament.
Down by two at halftime, 36-38, the Blazers started picking up steam from distance. With 6:54 remaining in the third, the waxing hands of Carlo Young, Justin Gutang, and Edward Dixon were able to plant a 16-point gap, nurtured by a 20-to-two run, 56-40 — a lead that they never relinquished the rest of the way.
Gutang punched in 17 points and eight rebounds for the Blazers, who still sit atop the Group B bracket with a 7-1 slate.
Unique Naboa, Clement Leutcheu, and Young contributed 12, and 11 apiece respectively.
Allyn Bulanadi, Michael Calisaan, and Arjan Dela Cruz registered 20, 14, and 11, respectively, for the Stags, who now fall out of the tourney with an even 4-4 record.
The final game of the day featured two of the most pesky defenses in the collegiate scene — Adamson University Soaring Falcons and Lyceum of the Philippines University Pirates. Both teams engaged in a slugfest but the Falcons kept the Pirates’ crew at bay, 86-74, in a no-bearing game.
Adamson, who sport a 6-2 record after the win, was topscored by Jerrick Ahanmisi 14 ppints spiked by three triples. Sean Manganti, Simon Camacho, and Jonathan Espeleta helped in scoring with 12 apiece and 11 respectively.
On the other hand, Lyceum, who ends their campaign with 3-5 in Group B, was led by the troika of CJ Perez, Jaycee Marcelino, and Jayvee Marcelino with 23, 13, nd 10 respectively.
Shrugging off a slow start, deadeye Renzo Subido skippered University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers’ comeback to blast the Arellano University Chiefs, 82-73, ending their season campaign on a high note.
Subido exploded for 30 points, 17 of which came in the second half. While Marvin Lee added 17 for the España-based squad, who finish their season campaign with two wins in eight outings.
The Chiefs, on the other hand, saw four guys in double figures, with Levi Dela Cruz leading the way with 16 markers. Michael Canete, Rence Alcoriza, and Adrian Alban added 12 and 10 points apiece for Arellano, who now exits the competition with a 3-5 card.
The Scores:
First game:
UST (82) – Subido 30, Lee 17, Zamora 9, Bonleon 7, Huang 6, Agustin 5, Caunan 4, Consejo 4, Bataller 0, Marcos 0.
AU (73) – Dela Cruz 16, Canete 12, Alcoriza 10, Alban 10, Dela Tore 9, Bayla 7, Concepcion 3, Ongolo Ongolo 2, Meca 2, Camacho 2, Sera Josef 0, Abdurasad 0, Chavez 0, Codinera 0, Santos 0.
Quarterscores: 19-20, 33-40, 64-53, 82-73.
Second game:
SBU (75) – Cariño 11, Eugene 10, Mocon 8, Burri 8, Nelle 6, Cuntapay 6, Tankoua 6, Presbitero 5, Soberano 5, Cabanag 4, Bolick 3, Doliguez 3, Tongco 0, Oftana 0.
EAC (48) – Cruz 9, Robin 8, Mendoza 7, Maguliano 6, Diego 6, Garcia 5, Tampoc 4, Bautista 2, Ling 1, Natividad 0, Cadua 0, Gonzales 0, Bugarin 0, Neri 0, Estacio 0, Fuentes 0.
Quarterscores: 21-9, 46-25, 58-34, 75-48.
Third game:
CSB (87) – Gutang 17, Naboa 12, Leutcheu 11, Young 11, Dixon 9, Nayve 8, Carlos 8, Haruna 7, Belgica 4, Domingo 0, Pagulayan 0, Velasco 0, Barnes 0.
SSC-R (79) – Bulanadi 20, Calisaan 14, Dela Cruz 11, Capobres 9, Ilagan 9, Valdez 8, Calma 6, Sumoda 2, Baytan 0, Villapondo 0, Desoyo 0, Isidro 0, Vinte 0.
Quarterscores: 16-25, 36-38, 72-55, 87-79.
Fourth game:
AdU (85) – Ahanmisi 14, Manganti 12, Camacho 12, Espleta 11, Mojica 9, Macion 6, Lastimosa 5, Colonia 5, Catapusan 5, Orquez 4, Bernando 2, Magbuhos 0, Zaldivar 0, Maata 0.
LPU (75) – Perez 23, JC Marcelino 13, JV Marcelino 10, Ayaay 9, Tansingco 5, Pericas 4, Guinto 4, Yong 3, Caduyac 2, Serrano 2, Pretta 0, Ibanes 0, Remulla 0.
Quarterscores: 26-22, 53-40, 73-60, 85-75.
